advise you never to be a preacher with such an opinion of your Master and his system, as a denial of his Divinity and his atonement necessarily involve. I do not doubt, my son, that men have had the real consolations of the Gospel who have held different views of many religious truths, nor that men have had serenity of mind in holding the grossest errors. But the consolations of the Gospel cannot be enjoyed by those who destroy the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, and he who does not build upon Christ as the foundation of all hope, and upon his blood as the price of purchase, and the blood of cleansing from all sin, can have no solid hope of salvation. Could you have been persuaded to follow a different course of study, it appears to me these difficulties would have been avoided; but I have thought it my duty to advise, rather than to insist, and if God should blast the fond hopes that I have entertained respecting you, he will be righteous. I desire to give up all into his hands: my wife, my children, and my own soul.'

Upon the receipt of which letter the son writes in his private journal: 'Oh God, assist, guide, and direct me what course of life to pursue! Save me from prejudice, from indifference, from ambition, and from worldly views.'

And to his father he writes thus:

'August 10th, 1804.

'MY DEAR FATHer, Your last letter appears to be final upon the subject of my preaching; but as I have already made an engagement to preach for Dr. Cushing, my sermon may also be a valedictory. It would be more congenial to my feelings and pursuits to be a tutor at the College, than to study either of the professions you mention. My tastes are literary, and as I am not ambitious of riches, the salary,

together with my own little fortune, would be amply sufficient, even if my health should fail before the term of my existence.

'I cannot conceal from myself and from you, that this termination of the expectations of friends, and, may I not add without vanity, of the ample preparation I have made for my profession, is a severe disappointment of my fondest hopes. Yet the preparation may not be altogether lost. If God should spare my life, I may be able to do something in diffusing a deeper love of intellectual pursuits, and a purer taste among young persons of my own age; and the malady with which God has visited me is a perpetual warning to me that I have no right to expect a long life.

'You must permit me to differ from you in the propriety of declaring my views from the pulpit. I shall always be ready to give an answer to private inquiries, but I conceive that it would be only an arrogant assumption for the youngest of preachers to intrude upon a mixed audience views that might be startling, that perhaps are not yet matured; and although I see no expectation of my ever becoming a Trinitarian, further investigation may modify what is now the subject of incessant thought and constant prayer. 'Your affectionate son,

'J. S. BUCKMINSTER.'

That Joseph was entirely sincere in his intention of relinquishing, out of respect to his father, the profession of his choice, appears from a letter written, but perhaps not sent, to Mr. Sidney Willard, the Librarian of Harvard College.

'Dec., 1803.

DEAR SIR,I should have given myself the pleasure of waiting upon you a second time before you left Portsmouth,

* Left him by his maternal grandfather, the Rev. Dr. Stevens.

PROPOSED CHANGE OF PROFESSION.

155

but I was not only unwilling to interrupt you while taking leave of your friends, but the subject upon which I wished to speak with you was in some degree private. You will recollect that I then took the liberty of asking you, if you intended to leave your present situation at Cambridge. I should not have been so impertinent as to propose the question, except that I had heard it mentioned from several quarters that such was your intention, which I was the more induced to believe, from knowing that you had been for some time engaged in preaching. I sometimes indulge my inclination for a residence at Cambridge, and the office of Librarian I have always thought would be most accommodated to the pursuit of my favorite objects. Perhaps it is presumptuous in me to expect ever to attain it; at best, my prospect of success is so uncertain, that I have been induced to give you this intimation of my wishes, presuming that you will not think it impertinent in me to suggest them. If your intention of leaving Cambridge depend upon circumstances at present doubtful, you will greatly oblige me by giving me notice of your determination whenever it is decidedly formed. I will take the liberty, also, of requesting you to inform me whether any application for the office has yet been made. If my request should appear to you in any degree improper, I must beg your pardon for troubling you with this letter.'

1803.*

DR. BUCKMINSTER had now been settled in Portsmouth twenty-four years, and during that time he had been pursuing the usual quiet routine of the duties of a parish minister, varied and rendered more than usually interesting by the state of the public mind in this transition period of the country. The country was then passing through those momentous events which finally established its prosperity; but while they were in progress, they deeply agitated the minds of all men, and laid upon public instructors a double weight of responsibility. It was then deemed proper, even indispensable, that ministers should preach upon all subjects of public and political interest, expressing their individual opinions with moderation, but with decision and independence; and it sometimes happened that they did not confine themselves to the bounds of moderation. There were at this time very few newspapers, — no reading-rooms; the public press was just beginning to be the important instrument of good and of evil which it has since become, and the preaching of the

This year the degree of Doctor in Divinity was conferred upon Mr. Buckminster by the College of New Jersey.

PREACHING OF DR. BUCKMINSTer.

157

ministers, at least in country places, was one of the great means of instructing and informing the people in political affairs, as well as in religious duties.

Since the period of Dr. Buckminster's settlement at Portsmouth, the treaty had been concluded which finished the war and established the independence of the country. The terrible depression of public credit which followed, and all the distressing embarrassments of the period, he bore, together with his faithful parish, waiting for better times for the full payment of his moderate salary. The adoption of the Constitution; the choice of rulers, and of Washington as the first President; his visit to Portsmouth; his retirement from the Presidency; the choice of John Adams; the death of Washington, and the subsequent celebration of his birthday and also the commemoration of the day of his death, were signal occasions, upon all of which Dr. Buckminster preached sermons which his hearers thought worthy of more extensive circulation, and at their request they were printed.

A sermon, preached by him at the time of the visit of Washington to the Eastern States, subjected him, from those who did not hear it, to severe censure. Dr. Buckminster was not informed till late on Saturday that the illustrious guest would worship at his church in the forenoon, and the sermon was prepared in haste from Psalm xxiv. 7, 8:-Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle.'

Perhaps the selection of the text was unfortunate;